i (heart) odd-toed ungulates

Primates for the Postman

It's been mail art central over here this week. Not all envelopes are being scanned and archived for posterity (one of the joys of the "you have 2 hours before the post office closes" game is accepting that a lot will go unfinished...). These wee fellows (Lemur catta) came out quite alright, however - lucky little buggers! Perhaps they've benefitted from my recent Ring-tailed kick... must be those cheeky tails... but wait, there's more!

Inky Ring-tails

Trying out a new tool this week... I took a few waterbrushes with me to the Franklin Park Zoo. I often tote a travel-sized watercolor palette with me, along with my sketchbook, but adding a few brushes, and finding or additionally carrying around some small vessel of water, can be a pain. Waterbrushes solve that problem nicely, and they encourage me to work pretty loosely (always a rewarding challenge for someone so inclined towards needling detail). If you've never "sketched" with watercolor, I highly suggest it. As always, the FPZ lemurs were at their Ring-tailed best... 

Baby Faces: Kambiri Hams it Up

Kambiri, the youngest gorilla in the FPZ troop (she was born November 23rd, 2010), is growing like a fuzzy little weed, and while she's still quite petite in overall size, her baby teeth have come in, her mobility is slowly but surely improving, and she takes any opportunity she can to exercise her facial muscles for visitors at the viewing glass. These paintings were made from a series of photographs I took while watching her interact with her fans (many of which are small children who enjoy mimicking her silliness).

Kitombe in Cabinet

I subscribe to the quarterly arts and culture magazine Cabinet - it's a gorgeous publication with elegant design, rich artwork, and the literary soul of  a science journal. The current issue's theme is "Hair", and to my surprise, who did I happen to find gracing page 80 but the patriarch of the FPZ gorilla troop, Kitombe (father of new baby, Kambiri). His photo was used to illustrate an article on trichotillomania, a repetitive hair plucking disorder found in humans as well as captive animals, and he is sadly a perfect case study. The article was written by local MIT Phd candidate Laurel Braitman, who researched hair plucking in the FPZ gorillas, along with "barbering" in mice, and feather plucking in cockatoos. A writer and historian of science, Laurel studies changing perceptions of animal thoughts, and how animal behavior (particularly "crazy" behavior) informs our understanding of them, as well as ourselves. She ruminates on this subject on her blog: www.animalmadness.com.

I have not to date posted my sketches and painting of Kit - perhaps I was waiting for this occasion... but I will admit, he is not my favorite ape subject, in part because of his self-styled, patchy fur (and in part because he tends to be more sedentary and reclusive than the other gorillas, which doesn't make for compelling drawing). In both depictions here, Kit's bald patches are notable: large naked areas on his arms make his anatomy much more visible than it would be on a thickly furred adult male, and the dome of his impressive sagittal crest is sadly only populated by stubble (the hair does grow back if left alone). The FPZ keepers continue to explore new solutions to the trichotillomania problem (most promising, and probably healthy in many other ways, are efforts to decrease opportunities for boredom by adjusting to more frequent foraging schedules, and introducing more enrichment items), though hair plucking can be an easily learned behavior, and a number of other troop members have already started...

Mama Kiki & her Mini Me

A few quick(ish) studies of FPZ new mama, Kiki, foraging and resting while toting around her new Mini Me. From the looks of it, infant gorillas have it pretty good - what a comforting mobile nest, all snugged into a warm nook of thick, dark fur, and boobs... And while the protectiveness (ie potential for dangerous aggression) of animal mothers of all species is legendary, the eyes with which Kiki keeps watch - the same eyes through which she spends hours exploring her babe in wonder - lead me to believe that the loyalty of a mama gorilla might just be frighteningly unparalleled.

Oh, Baby... Gorilla!

As alluded to in an earlier post, the Franklin Park Zoo's Tropical Forest was graced recently with a brand new baby lowland gorilla. Born November 3rd to 29 year old Kiki, the new baby ape was confirmed female only a few weeks ago (since official weighing, measuring and vetting could only be done after anesthetizing mum, FPZ staff refrained from meddling with the mother-daughter pair for as long as possible). Pictured above is Brandi Baitchman, senior zookeeper at the Tropical Forest, and again below, with the help of measuring tape wielding TF assistant curator, Jeannine Jackle.

Zookeepers have some of the toughest jobs in the world: many up before sunrise (so their charges may have the pleasure of starting their morning with a prompt breakfast); splitting their days between laboring like barnyard janitors, prepping trays of food that would squelch the best human appetites (think naked pink feeder mice and still wriggling insects - for the carnivores, at least), and accomplishing such feats as marker training tapirs to calmly accept flu shots - all the while retaining the grace of Noah in their patience and compassion for their animals. But for all the poo shoveling, meal-worm measuring, and very real physical hazards of maneuvering around thousands of combined pounds of undomesticated teeth, hooves and brute force, days like Dec 8th (baby check-up day) are monuments to the joys of the job; yes, going face to face with baby wild animals is inherently joy inducing, but baby animals that are the product of combining scrupulous worldwide conservation efforts with years of nurturing individual representatives of rare species are a well deserved badge of pride for their keepers, they're accomplishments that are no doubt as satisfying to reflect on professionally as they are to cuddle up with in person (if only for a fleeting hour or so). My hats off to the FPZ TF crew for their flawless teamwork, enthusiasm, and dedication - you guys rock.


More baby gorilla illustration to come... And if you're in town, pop by the zoo and submit a name for this lovely, brown-eyed little girl: a baby-naming contest is currently underway - the winning name will be chosen and announced in a public presentation on Feb 26th and the winner will receive a family membership to the zoo, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour for up to six people.

Kimani

Kimani is a six year old Western Lowland Gorilla at the Franklin Park Zoo. Up until a month ago, she was the youngest in the FPZ troop, but the November 3rd birth of a brand new baby - a full sibling - now makes her the "middle child" (Kimani's 11 year old sister, Kira, was also born at the FPZ, and shares the same mom, Kiki, and pop, Kitombe). Stay tuned for posts on the captivating new wee ape...

Below, a young Kimani snacking on fruit, and snuggling with Kiki. (photo credit: Franklin Park Zoo)

Okie's Thumb

It's been a very busy few weeks - new clients, new projects - but I finally made it back to the zoo this morning for a few hours of sketching with the gorillas, et al. Normally it's the girls who like to sit closest to the exhibit glass, lounging and eye-balling the visitors, but today Okie planted himself within comfortable view. Like a kid that can't seem to outgrow a well worn blanky, studly Okie, a teenager, has unfortunately retained the infantile habit of sucking his thumb. While thumb-sucking isn't unheard of in primates other than humans, it can be an abnormal behavior prolonged into adulthood by the stress of captivity. With utmost respect for the FPZ keepers - tirelessly dedicated to the health and mental enrichment of their charges - even the best zoos are a far cry from a life in the wild for most animals... more often than not, reminders like this abound.

Animals On Exhibit

For anyone who hasn't been, or isn't able to visit: a glimpse of what it's like to visit the gorillas at the Franklin Park Zoo. Gigi holds court... And below, a lounging pygmy crocodile. 

Spotted: The Horton Plains Slender Loris!

Lorises are arboreal primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini - just like the lemurs. Among the subfamily Lorinae are 5 distinct species, split into 2 generas (the slow lorises and the slender lorises); the slender lorises (red and gray) are split again in subspecies (note: taxonomy at this level gives me a headache), and to make things even more complicated, ALL the little buggers have enough general characteristics in common that identification without physical examination can be quite difficult - without exception is the critically endangered Horton Plains slender loris (painted above).

Lorises are endemic to the forests of India, Sri Lanka, and southeast Asia, and all of them are considered threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation of woodlands, which, among other detrimental issues, makes it impossible for these solitary animals to find mates. However, so rare is the The Horton Plains slender loris (Loris tardigradus nycticeboides) that after it's discovery in 1937 - based on but 2 individuals - the little chap went MIA for 65 years, miraculously reappearing by reported sighting only in 2002. After only 4 sightings in 72 years, a recent dedicated search by EDGE conservationists with the Zoological Society of London, and Shi Lankan researchers (who logged over 200 collective hours meticulously surveying forest transects) not only rediscovered this stubby subspecies - they captured one on film for the very first time (see images below). If that doesn't just make you giddy for the perseverance of nature in such challenging times for biodiversity...  

As a family, the lorises are a comically cute group of prosimians with pencil-thin limbs, round as a button faces, and impossibly large, bright eyes (kitschy 60s "pity" critters brought to life... thankfully minus the expression of wrenching sadness). The assorted species and subspecies vary slightly in size between 6 - 14", each one clothed in a slightly different shade of ambiguous browny-gray, and on the whole they are cautiously slow but precise in their movements from branch to branch; they are also mainly nocturnal (hence the great saucers for eyes) and hunt for insects, eggs, and tasty vegetation in the night. Characterized by shorter limbs and thicker, more dense fur than other slender loris forms, the tailless Horton Plains slender loris is well suited for the chilly Sri Lankan montane forest (mountain rainforest) it calls home - montane forest grows between an altitude of 3,300 - 6,600 feet; lowland species of loris have no need for cold tolerance, reflected by their shorter fur and large, bare ears, but temperatures in the montane can dip to -4˚C (25˚F), so the Horton Plains loris dresses appropriately.

Below are some lovely drawings of distinguishing facial features between red (left) and gray (right) lorises, from an identification guide at www.loris-conservation.org (artist does not appear to be noted); the photos from this week's announcement about the Horton Plains slender loris rediscovery (courtesy the Zoological Society of London); and a rather contorted slender loris on a vintage postcard - coincidentally the animal pictured was photographed at the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park. And if you have any interest in hearing a loris, the wonders of the interwebs allow me to provide you with this.
 



What thrilling news to end a week with (and well timed, as I'm working on an upcoming post on Pottos, a close loris cousin) - now lets hope that our collective newfound awareness about this fragile fellow will result in faster action to preserve what's left of Sri Lanka's dwindling rainforests, and all of their rare and unusual inhabitants.... but not to end on a note of total foreboding, if you'd like to see a loris "in action" (and have your day brightened about 10 fold), please, check out Sonya, a pet slow loris... being tickled.